Pregnant Woman Sliced Open To Steal Baby
Rob Amen
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
_________________
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania (United States):
An Armstrong County woman is accused of cutting open her pregnant neighbor's abdomen with a razor in a failed attempt to kidnap her unborn child, authorities said Thursday.
Peggy Jo Conner, 38, is accused of hitting Valerie Lynn Oskin in the head with a baseball bat at Oskin's mobile home in Manor before driving her 15 miles to secluded woods in Wayne, said Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Andreassi.
Oskin, 30, and her baby were alive last night because Adam Silvis, 17, spotted the women Wednesday evening as he rode an all-terrain vehicle along a dirt road, state police said.
Conner, who was kneeling beside Oskin, smiled and waved to Silvis, saying everything was "fine," according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Silvis told his father, Andrew Silvis, who went to the scene with his son and called police. Andrew Silvis last night said his son was tired and overwhelmed, and he declined further comment.
Police found Oskin on the ground beside blood-soaked towels and blankets, the affidavit stated. Oskin, who was 7 1/2 months' pregnant, was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section.
The baby appeared to be healthy and was expected to survive, Andreassi said. Oskin remained in critical condition.
Andreassi said Oskin had planned to give up her baby for adoption. A woman who showed up at Allegheny General yesterday expressed her dismay about the incident.
"I'm supposed to adopt her baby," the woman told a reporter who noticed her distress when a clerk told her that no patient at the hospital was listed under Oskin's name.
The woman, who declined to identify herself, said she and her husband have an attorney assisting them with the adoption and that she has known Oskin for about three months.
Hospital officials later acknowledged that Oskin was a patient there, though registered under a different name.
Conner was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and aggravated assault of an unborn child. She was arraigned yesterday before Rural Valley District Judge Sam Goldstrohm and was being held without bail in the Armstrong County Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Conner "knew what she was doing" and came prepared, Andreassi said.
Authorities found a pair of scissors, a bulb syringe, shoelaces, a razor and a hemostat in Conner's blue Dodge Dynasty that she used to drive Oskin to the woods, according to the affidavit.
Conner's husband, Thomas Wilks, insisted his wife is innocent.
"I can't believe it," said Wilks, who described his wife of 1 1/2 years as a caring person with a gentle touch. "I don't believe Peggy would do anything like this. ... She took care of people."
Wilks said his wife recently took medical leave from her job at Melody Manor, a personal care home in Kittanning. Officials at the facility declined to comment.
Oskin also worked at a personal care home in the area before taking time off because of her pregnancy, Andreassi said.
Conner told police she was a medical assistant/nurses' aide and an emergency medical technician. A spokesman with the state Health Department, however, said he found no record of Conner's certification as an EMT or nurses' aide.
Conner told police she, like Oskin, was 7 1/2 months' pregnant, but a medical examination indicated she was not, authorities said. Conner has three children from another marriage, police said.
Oct 14, 2005
Rob Amen
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
_________________
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania (United States):
An Armstrong County woman is accused of cutting open her pregnant neighbor's abdomen with a razor in a failed attempt to kidnap her unborn child, authorities said Thursday.
Peggy Jo Conner, 38, is accused of hitting Valerie Lynn Oskin in the head with a baseball bat at Oskin's mobile home in Manor before driving her 15 miles to secluded woods in Wayne, said Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Andreassi.
Oskin, 30, and her baby were alive last night because Adam Silvis, 17, spotted the women Wednesday evening as he rode an all-terrain vehicle along a dirt road, state police said.
Conner, who was kneeling beside Oskin, smiled and waved to Silvis, saying everything was "fine," according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Silvis told his father, Andrew Silvis, who went to the scene with his son and called police. Andrew Silvis last night said his son was tired and overwhelmed, and he declined further comment.
Police found Oskin on the ground beside blood-soaked towels and blankets, the affidavit stated. Oskin, who was 7 1/2 months' pregnant, was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section.
The baby appeared to be healthy and was expected to survive, Andreassi said. Oskin remained in critical condition.
Andreassi said Oskin had planned to give up her baby for adoption. A woman who showed up at Allegheny General yesterday expressed her dismay about the incident.
"I'm supposed to adopt her baby," the woman told a reporter who noticed her distress when a clerk told her that no patient at the hospital was listed under Oskin's name.
The woman, who declined to identify herself, said she and her husband have an attorney assisting them with the adoption and that she has known Oskin for about three months.
Hospital officials later acknowledged that Oskin was a patient there, though registered under a different name.
Conner was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and aggravated assault of an unborn child. She was arraigned yesterday before Rural Valley District Judge Sam Goldstrohm and was being held without bail in the Armstrong County Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Conner "knew what she was doing" and came prepared, Andreassi said.
Authorities found a pair of scissors, a bulb syringe, shoelaces, a razor and a hemostat in Conner's blue Dodge Dynasty that she used to drive Oskin to the woods, according to the affidavit.
Conner's husband, Thomas Wilks, insisted his wife is innocent.
"I can't believe it," said Wilks, who described his wife of 1 1/2 years as a caring person with a gentle touch. "I don't believe Peggy would do anything like this. ... She took care of people."
Wilks said his wife recently took medical leave from her job at Melody Manor, a personal care home in Kittanning. Officials at the facility declined to comment.
Oskin also worked at a personal care home in the area before taking time off because of her pregnancy, Andreassi said.
Conner told police she was a medical assistant/nurses' aide and an emergency medical technician. A spokesman with the state Health Department, however, said he found no record of Conner's certification as an EMT or nurses' aide.
Conner told police she, like Oskin, was 7 1/2 months' pregnant, but a medical examination indicated she was not, authorities said. Conner has three children from another marriage, police said.
Oct 14, 2005
